Mold ejecting machine



Feb. 5, 1963 H. L.. REKART 3,076,238

MOLD EJECTING MACHINE Filed May 9, 1960 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 INV ENTOR.

Feb. 5, 1963 H. l.. REKART 3,076,238

MOLD EJECTING MACHINE Filed May 9, 1960 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

H. l.. REKART MOLD EJECTING MACHINEv Feb. 5, 1963 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed May 9, 1960 INVENTOR- BY A44/MM. MMU

Feb. 5, 1963 y H; L.. REKART 3,076,233

MOLD EJECTING MACHINE Filed May 9, 1960 4 sheets-sheet 4 Fi y. 13 Fi g 14 F1745 INVENTOR.

UnitedStates Patent() 3,076,238 MOLD EJECTING MACHINE Harold L. Rekart, Elmhurst, lll., assignor to National Castings Company, a corporation of Ohio Filed May 9, 1960, Ser. No. 27,709 20 Claims. (Cl. 22-95.5)

This invention relates to foundry equipment and par ticularly to a machine in which a poured mold, including the casting enclosed therein may be removed from a conventional flask of the so-called permanent4 or tight type consisting normallyV of separable ycope and drag halves.` v

In conventional foundry practice, a tight flask retains the mold in the flask until the casting is poured and the mold and the casting are separated from the flask. Tight flasks of ordinary size are usually made of steel with the tops of the cope portions and the bottoms of the drag portions being open. In the larger flasks, the drag por tion is commonly heavily reinforced by a grid work with- *cek of a conventional shake-out machine.

iu its lower end portion. Frequently, the walls of the Y cope and the drag are further reinforced by perimetric oorrugations. The corrugations and the grid work tend to trap the poured mold within the flask and make forcible removal of the mold and the casting carried therein necessary.

Except for very heavy castings requiring casting by pit methods, tight flasks `ofsteel construction are preferredv in the production of medium to heavy castings in quantity. However, as the size of the castings increases, the amount of heat needed to be dissipated in the poured mold increases and results in the mold being baked to a greater hardness. This baking effect is even greater inthe making ofsteel castings since steel must bepoured at a higher temperature than iron.

A mold and a solidified casting carried therein is'removed from the tight flask by shaking theflask on a vibrating platformof a shake-out machine. The cost of such a machine is substantial since it must be capable of handling loads involving several hundred pounds to sever'al tons. Because of the impact necessary to eiciently remove the contents of the flask, the machine and also the flasks sustain severe wear and attrition in spite of their heavy construction. Moreover, each shake-out operation involves a significant expenditure of time since platform oscillation lasts several minutes and the operation also includes some manual cleaning and handling steps wherein the flask is conditioned for receiving a fresh mold and then placed in a position for being conveyed lto the next operation.

Hence, the primary object of this invention is to provide a less-expensive, quicker method of unloading flasks of the type heretofore requiring unloading on a shakeout machine.

The foregoing object includes such more specific objects as: (1) to reduce the time required for removal of a poured mold from a flask; (2) `to -speed up the recovery o-f castings from fragmented mold material; (3) to reduce the floor space needed for flask unloading equipment; (4) to provide a new type of equipment to speed up the passage of flasks through the mold-removing stations and thereby to either reduce the number of flasks. required and/or the number of flask unloading machines, and in either case to reduce the plant'space requirements fora synchronized mass-casting foundry process; (5) to increase the service life of flasks and reduce the maintenance costs thereof; (6) to reduce the labor costs entailed in removing molds from flasks; (7) to improve working conditions by reduction of noiseand dust which accompanies the conventional shake-out operation; and (8) lto eliminate the lifting of flasksrand other manual In brief, the present invention is generally embodied in an apparatus for removing a poured mold, including the` casting contained therein, yfrom an open end molding flask. This apparatus comprises means for supporting the flask with both ends thereof exposed; closure means for engaging the entire periphery of one end portion of the flask to provide a sealed connection therewith and a cavity overlying the adjacent end of a mold held by the flask; a reservoir for storing a fluid, such as compressed air, at elevated pressure; duct means connecting the reservoir with said cavity and having capacity providing such rapid transfer of a fluid stored under pressure in the reservoir to the cavity as to effect instantaneous equalization of pressure between the reservoir and the cavity. A neces-' sary component of the -duct means is valve means instantaneously operable from a closed condition to an open condition to effect said transfer of the fluid.

forengaging a flask held by the apparatus in proper posi#- tion for ejecting a poured mold therefrom. The apparatus may further provide a cradle or other support for the flask whereby it may be received from a conveyor system and inverted to a position for being engaged by the unit. In another form of the invention, the apparatus may be provided with a flask support incorporating conveying structure cooperatively arranged with a flask-supplying and flask-receiving conveyor system to eliminate manual handling of the flasks throughout the mold ejection proc ess practiced therein.

In the drawings with respect to which the invention is -described in detail: Y

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a flask containing a poured mold;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a flask similar to the one shown in FIG. 1 in inverted position showing the grid reinforcement in the bottom of the drag half of the flask; Y Y FIG. 3 is a front elevation with minor foreground portions broken away, of apparatus in accordance with aV preferred embodiment; v t

FIG. 4' is an elevation in section IV-IV of FIG. 3;

FIG. `5 is a plan view of an adapter plate partially con-m stituting the flask closure of the apparatus shown inz FIGS. 3 and 4;

, FIG. 6 is a plan view of a header plate partially constituting the flask closure and cooperating with the adapter,

plate of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7v is an elevation in section ofthe flask closure taken along line VII- VII of FIG.v 4;

3 and 4;

FIG. 9a is a schematic perspective View of a manual*l worm drive for the clamping system shown in FIG. 9; and:

FIGS. 10 to.15 are diagrammatic elevations of the apparatus of this invention depicting it in various stages of operation in the process of receiving a flask, removing a poured mold therefrom, and returning the empty flasvkito a conveyor system. y

In a preferred embodiment, the reservoir, the closure taken along line FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate a flask 5 comprising a drag 6 and a cope 7 containing, as shown in FIG. l, a poured mold having an upwardly-protruding pouring cup 9 and open risers 10 and 11. The cope and the drag are ordinarily held together by some arrangement such as that shown wherein pairs of adjacent lugs extend from both the cope and drag for receiving clamps 12 which extend around the lugs. The lower part of the drag 6 is reinforced by a grid work of webs 14 characteristic of the largeror heavier flasks.

For use in the present invention, the flask 5 is provided with flanges which extend laterally with respect to the end walls of the cope and the drag at both ends of the upper periphery ofthe cope (flanges 16) and at both ends of the lower periphery of the drag (flanges These flanges adapt the flask for entry into flask-holding guides of the machine hereinafter described.

With reference now to FIGS. 3 and 4, the machine comprises a main supporting frame 17 in which a flask-supporting cradle 18 is rotatively supported, and in which a reciprocable uid-applying mold-ejecting unit 19 is reciprocably supported for movements toward and away from the cradle 18.

The cradle 18 is shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 oriented in its regular position for receiving flasks containing poured molds from a conveyor system such as the conveyor 20 (see FIGS. l0 to l5). The loaded flasks are delivered to the machine with the bottom of the drag resting on the conveyor and frequently with portions of the poured mold extending above the cope. The cradle 18 includes conveyor structure which may consist, as shown of spaced track members 22 and 23, each of which comprises a series of rollers 24 supported on a corresponding plurality of parallel pins 25 affixed by opposite ends to a channel 26. The top surfaces of the rollers 24 lie in a plane 'which is preferably coplanar, as shown, with the supporting plane of the conveyor 20. Spaced slightly above each track member 22 and 23 are elongate guides 27, each of which isparallel to the plane of the upper surface of the rollers of the adjacent track member. Either guide 27 is spaced with respect to its corresponding conveyor trcak member to easily receive the flanges 15 of the drag portion of the flask. Y l

At a higher level, the cradle 18 is provided with guides 29 and 30 spaced vertically above the guides 22 and 23, respectively. Each guide 29, 30 comprises a channel 28, the length and width of which is parallel to the plane of flask support vprovided by the track members 22 and 23. The p arallel flanges 74 and 75 of each guide 29, 30 are spaced in the vertical direction. An intermediate flange 68 parallel to these flanges is spaced from the flange 75 merely to an extent necessary 1to provide facile entry therebetween of the flanges 16 of the cope portion of the flask 5. Both guides 29, 30 are supported as shown in FIG. 4.

Referring to FIG. 4, the guide Y30 is rigidly attached to a horizontal bar 31 in threaded relation with the jackscrews 32, 33 by which the guides 3 0 may be raised or lowered in accordance with the distance between the drag flanges .15 and the cope `flanges 16. The machine is thenl adapted for receiving flasks of varying height. To accomplish adjustment of 'the 4'guides '29, '30, a worm drive, such as that schematically shown in FIG. 9a, is provided for rotating the screws 32, 33 associated with each guide 29, 30. With reference toFIGS. 4, y9, and 9a, worm-gears 35 'and 36 are mounted on the lower end of the screws 32, 33. A shaft 37 extends longitudinally through a lower side portion ofthe cradle frame with worms 38 yand 39 fixcdly mounted thereon to mesh with the gears 35, 36, respectively. A crank 41 is attached to an end of the shaft 37 exteriorly of the cradle frame for access to an operator. y

For'rotaton of the cradle 18 within the base frame 17, the frame 'is provided with 'coaxial spaced bearings 44 and 45 which receive trunnions 46 and 47 of the cradle. This iournal-bearing connection enables rotation of the cradle to invert a flask secured therein to a position wherein the bottom of the drag 6 faces upwardly toward the unit 1'9. To achieve further versatility of the machine with respect to flasks of varying sizes, the cradle 18 may be constructed in relatively adjustable side sections A and B of which side portion A is adjustable lengthwise of the axis of the bearings 44 and 45 in horizontal direction toward and away from side portion B. For this purpose, the trunnion 46 is made considerably longer than trunnion 45 so that it may derive further support from a bearing 48 and provide a coaxial bore for receiving a threaded jack 51. The axis and length of the jack 51 is fixed with respect to the machine frame 52 by a pair of collars 53 and 54 secured to an unthreaded shaft portion of the jack. The jackshaft extends outboardly to provide an end portion for mounting crank 55. Rotation of the jackshaft 51 traverses the trunnion 46 in either direction, depending on the direction of the jackshaft, thereby disposing cradle portion A closer or further away from vportion B. The two cradle portions are connected and held from relative rotation by tubular frame members 57 and 58 in telescoping relation with rod frame members 59 and 61, respectively.

To rotate the cradle 18 from the flask-receiving position, shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, to a position for ejecting the poured mold contained by the flask in a downward direction, the trunnion 46 is connected with a power source, such as a motor 63 by power transmission system which, as shown, consists of a gear reduction unit 64, the output gear 65 thereof, and a driven gear 66 mounted xedly on the trunnion 46. In a manner well-known to the electrical control art, the machine may be provided with stops and limits which is to control the movements of the motor 63 and the cradle 18 in a desired manner.

To position flasks received by the cradle 18 in a predeterminad position, wherein they may be engaged accu? rately bythe ejector unit 19, the upper 'guides 29 and 30 are provided with locking devices 70 and 71, respectively, of similar construction. Considering now device 71 of FIG. 4, a key or pin 72 extends in slidable relation through an apertured lug 73 fixed to the guide structure. The pin in normal position extends through an aperture in the upper flange 74, an aperture in the flange 68, and into engagement with the lower flange 75. The pin is urged downwardly by a spring 76 compressed between the lug 73 land a washer held by a key 77 extending through the pin 72. The pin 72 has an inclined lower end surface 78 inclined upwardly toward the flask-receiving side of the machine. Hence, the machine as viewed in FIG. 10 shows a flask entering the cradle from the right in the direction of the arrow R will cam the pin 72 upwardly to allow the flange to pass between flanges 68 and 75 of both guides 70, 71 until apertures 80 in the flanges 16 of the cope of the flask are directly under corresponding pins 72. The apertures 80 of both cope flanges 16 are correlated with the pin devices 70 and 71 so that the apertures receive both pins simultaneously and act to stop the flask from further travel longitudinally of the cradle when propelled gently thereinto.I With this arrangement, violent movement of the flask into the cradle is to be avoided so that the walls of the apertures in the flanges do not cam the 'pins upwardly to allow the flask to continue on through the cradle. An operator will, in a short time, acquire the experience needed to transfer flasks in a manner to obtain the desired operation of the 'stop devices 70 and 71.

For achieving the primary purpose of the invention, i.e., to eject poured molds from flasks, the ejection unit 19 is constructed for suddenly releasing a fluid, preferyably air, into the open end 'of a flask whereby the mold may be discharged from the opposite open end of the flask. Use is made of the impact and velocity forces developed as the fluid is suddenly released into an enclosed chamber partly formed bythe mold to be ejected, rather than by static pressure alone. As illustrated in FIG. 8, a closure head 81, a vreservoir 82, and interconi necting ducts 83` are combined into the single movable unit 19. The unit 19 is tied together by 4 hollow posts or tubes 84 (as shown) secured by their lower ends to the supper surface of the closure 81 and to the sides of the reservoir 82. The posts 84 are tied together in a lateral direction-by an X-'frame 86. Each post 84 is in vertically slidable telescoping relation with a vertical rod 85, the latter 4being in fixed relation with the frame 17.

With the posts 84 in guide relation with the rods 85, the unit 19 is raised and lowered through the operation of a Huid cylinder 88 xed to the frame 17. The lower end of the piston rod 89 of the cylinder is secured to the unit 19 bya swivel connection'90 of which Va clevis portion pivotally connected to the end of the rod 89 is fixed to the-frame 86.

*The closure head 81 has the function of conducting and directing a fluid released fromthe reservoir 82 into and through a flask supported in the carriage 18and properly positioned against the underside of the closure head. The closure head comprises a head plate 95 and an adapter plate 96 supported closely adjacent the underside of the head plate 95 by angle-shaped flanges 97 and 98 xed to, and extending downwardly and then horizontally from the opposite side edges of the head plate 95. The plates 95 and 96 have apertures 101 and 102, respectively, which are in vertical registry with'the ducts 83 for the uninterrupted transmission of air or other fluid and blast-force from the reservoir 82.

In operation, a downwardly extending horizontallycontinuous flange 104 engages the upper end surface of a ask along its lower edge. The adapter plate 96 is pressed tightly against the head plate 95 to eliminate any clearance between the two plates which might contribute to substantial leakage of air from a chamber formed,

when the two plates are together, yby a recess 106 in the undersurface of the head plate andthe passageway system 107 in the upper surface of the adapter plate.

Numerous small apertures V108 lead downwardly from the duct or canal 107 in an oblique direction intersecting with the vertical plane'of the nearest portion ofthe flange 104 at a point underneath the llange. The pattern of the directions of these passageways is such that their upward and downward projections would approximately outline a four-sided pyramid. Their purpose is vto provide' high pressure jets of air or other uid capable of scouring the inner wall of a flask free of any loose material. The canal 107 and the recess l106 of the head plate constitute a feed manifold connected with an air supply Ameans (which may be independent of the reservoir 82) by a duct 110 comprising a quick opening valve 111. The `duct 110 is connected with the head plate 95 to discharge `through an opening 112 contiguous with the recess 106.

In the operation of the unit 19, the quick-opening valves 83a and valve 111 are opened simultaneously at the will of an operator by a `fluid cylinder 114 operatively connected with the valves Ythrough -a slotted plate 115 attached to piston rod 116 and valve levers 117. However, in spite'of simultaneous'opening, airis discharged slightly later from the openings 108 than into theilargeopenings` 102 because lof thetime required to build up air under pressure in the manifold chamber and the resistance to its escape oifered by the openings 108. This isa fortunate circumstance since the air issuing. from thel openings 102 first -impacts the poured mold and ejects it from the flask and. then air issues in high-velocity-jets from the openings 108 to clean the flask walls at an instant slightly after the removal ofthe main body of the mold.

' .As shown, thev basic horizontal section of the plate 96 comprises wood and'the flange 104 is formed 'ofa more rigid material, such as metal, and is secured to the wood base by a plurality of angle pieces 118. j f

i FIGS. l0 'to 15 villustrate thevarious stages of a-pneumatic mold :ejection process provided bythe invention.

abrogata" cradle 18 of the machine from the conveyor 20. The

ejector unit 19 is completely upwardly retracted. It will i pletely inverted position wherein the ask is aligned forengagement along its undersurface which now faces upwardly toward the ejector head 19.

FIG. 13 illustrates the machine with the ejector head l1) bearing on the upward-facing undersurface of the flask120 at the instant of air release from the reservoir 82. The figure depicts a casting 122 and various pieces of the fragmented mold in the act of falling from the ask into a receiver 123 positioned below the cradle.

FIG. 14 illustrates rotation of the cradle and the empty flask supported therein to anupright position in a counterclockwise direction. The ejector head 19 has been previously moved to its uppermost position to allow rotation of the cradle. The receiver 123 now contains the ejected fragmented mold material and the casting 122.

f FIG. l5 illustrates the withdrawal of the ask 120 from the machine in the same direction as it entered in FIG. 10 but to the opposite side thereof. In actual practice, one flask entering the machine, as pictured in FIG. 10, may be used to propel empty asks from the machine as a result of the automatic release in one direction, provided by the holding pins 72,.

From the above description, it is evident thata moldejecting machine according to the inventionv is capable of removing molds and effecting the separation of castings therefrom at speeds unknown in the use-of conventional machinery, eg., the shake out machine. The full potential of the inventionV in saving of time and labor may be realized through automatic mechanisms presently known in the field of automation and consid-ered outside the purposes of this disclosure. The invention is applicable to substantially all sizes of foundry flasks which pro-` vide one open end.

The terms and expressions which have been employed are used as terms of description and not of limitation ,andvr there is no intention of. excluding such equivalents of theY invention described or of theV portions thereof as fall within Vthe purview of the claims.

What is claimed is:

1. An apparatus for removing a poured mold from.' an open-end molding flask comprising: means for sup`- porting the flask with both ends, exposed; closure means; supported above the supporting means-for engaging the.

entire periphery' of one endV portion of the ask when facing upwardly to provide a substantially sealedcon nection therewith and a cavity overlying the adjacent end of a mold held by the ask; a reservoir for storing a1 uid at elevated pressure; 4and duct means connecting the reservoir with s'aid cavity providing uninterrupted passagefor saiduid from the reservoir to Vthe surface of said".

mold and having capacity providing transfer of said iluid from the reservoir to the cavity effectingk instantaneous u equalization of pressure therebetween; said duct means including valve means instantaneously operable from a closed condition to an open condition.

2. The apparatus of claim lwherein: said closure means comprises an upper header plate, a lower adapter plate having :a downwardly-projecting horizontally-circuitous `ange adapted to continuously engage an upper face of the flask; and means for securing the plates in' proximate operative positions; said plateshaving `openings in vertical registry withsaid duct means and forming In FIG. L 10 a vvtlask120 may be observed entering the "I5 a continuous passageway when' 'the plates are together for communicating a fluid to the underside of the adapter plate.

3. The Iapparatus of claim 2 wherein: the means for securing the plates together comprises projections of the header plate providing spaced opposing grooves generally parallel to the underside of the header plate; the projections being spaced to receive a pair of opposite edges of the adapter plate within said grooves.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein: the undersurface of said header plate and the upper surface of the adapter plate are recessed along opposed areas to form a fluid-conducting system separate from said duct means; and said adapter plate has passageways extending therethrough from the tluid-conducting system and forming openings along an undersurface of lthe adapter plate within the flange; said passageways being aligned for discharging jets of fluid diagonally away from the undersurface of the adapter plate and transversely underneath spaced por-tions of said flange.

5. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein: said fluid-conducting system and said passageways occur along a circuit about said duct means, and between said duct means and van upward geometric projection of said flange.

6. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein: the closure has a fluid-conducting system separate from said duct means comprising: a plurality of small passageways opening along an undersurface of the closure which faces into a flask during Ia mold-removing operation; said passageways being :aligned for directing a fluid expelled therefrom in separate directions diagonally downwardly and outwardly from said undersurface in intersecting relation with horizontally-spaced portions of the entire periphery of a region occupied `by a flask in normal mold-removing position under said closure.

7. Apparatus for removing a poured mold from an open-end molding flask comprising: means for supporting the flask with both ends exposed; a movable unit comprising closure means for fitting over an upwardly-facing end of the flask vin substantially sealed relation therewith and forming a cavity thereover; a reservoir for storing a fluid at elevated pressure; and duct means connecting the closure means and the reservoir providing uninterrupted passage for said fluid from the reservoir to the surface of said mold and having capacity providing instantaneous transfer of said fluid from the reservoir to the cavity and equalization of pressure therebetween and the duct means including valve means instantaneously operable from a closed condition to an 'open condition.

8. The apparatus of claim 7 comprising: means mounted in reciprocal relation with said supporting means for supporting and moving said unit in a direction toward and away from a position of engagement vof the closure means with the end of a flask occupying said `supporting means.

9. The Vapparatus lof claim 8 comprising: mounting means for rotatably supporting said supporting means with respect to an axis of rotation extending substantially perpendicularly to said direction of movement of the reciprocable means; -said supporting means being rotatable from a normal position for receiving and discharging a flask to an inverted position for ejecting a mold from a flask supported therein; said `supporting means comprising means for holding said ask in fixed position relative to the supporting means.

10. The apparatus of claim 9 wherein said supporting means includes guiding means for receiving out-turned flanges on opposite sides of a flask occupying the supporting means; said guiding means comprising parallel and .spaced portions for disposing said flanges therebetween to confine the flask from movement in a direction transversely relative to the guiding means.

11. The apparatus of claim 9 wherein: the supporting means `consists of a cradle connected at opposite sides thereof with the frame Vby two coaxial journalbearing connections.

12. The apparatus of claim 9 wherein: said supporting means comprises roller conveyor elements having parallel axes arranged in a plane to engage an end surface of a flask.

13. The apparatus of claim 11 wherein: the cradle comprises spaced parallel roller conveyor members having parallel rollers arranged tangently with a plane and disposed in said normal position of the cradle for receiving a flask and engaging undersurfaces thereof along said plane at opposite sides of an opening through the flask.

14. In combination: the apparatus of claim 13 and a conveyor system having upwardly-facing load-supporting means disposed generally in a plane approximately coplanar with said plane of tangency with the rollers in said normal position of the cradle; the conveyor system being aligned with said members in said position to provide uninterrupted transfer of flasks between positions on said members and on said conveyor system.

l5. The apparatus of claim 13 wherein: the cradle comprises horizontally-spaced flanged members mounted for vertical adjustment along opposite sides of the cradle in overhead spaced relation with the rollers for overlapping and engaging an upwardly-facing surface of a flask resting on said conveyor member, said anged members being spaced from the conveyor members transversely of said axis of the journal-bearing connections.

16. Closure means for cooperating with the open end of a foundry flask to form a cavity over a mold contained in the flask adapted to receive a fluid in effecting pressure ejection of the mold, said closure means comprising: an upper -header plate; a lower adapter plate having a downwardly projecting circuitous flange adapted for continuous engagement of the end surface of a flask; said plates having openings in registry forming a continuous passageway through the closure means when the plates are together; said header plates having projection means extending downwardly from its underside interlocking with edge portions of said adapter plate positioning said openings in alignment for said registry.

17. The closure means of claim 16 wherein: opposing areas of opposing surfaces of the plates spaced from said openings are recessed, the adapter plate has passageways extending from its rearward area to its undersurface, the header plate has an opening extending from its recessed area to its upper side; said recessed areas and said associated passageways and opening defining a fluid-conducting system for scouring the walls of an empty flask.

18. The closure means of claim 16 wherein: said fluidconducting system is arranged circuitously with respect to said aligned openings'and the respective directions 'of said passageways are aligned in intersecting relation with a downward geometric projection of said flange at points spaced at a common level generally uniformly along its entire length.

19. A unit forv ejecting poured molds from foundry flasks comprising: a reservoir for storing a fluid at yelevated pressure; closure means 'comprising an upper header plate, ya lower `adaptor plate having a downwardly projecting circuitous flange for effectingperipherally continuous engagement with the vend surface of a flask, and means for securing the plates fin proximate operative positions; and vduct means connecting the reservoir with said vclosure means including aligned openings through said plates to form a continuous passageway to the underside of the adaptor .plate `when the -plates are together; said duct means having capacity providing sub' stantially uninterrupted passage of said fluid from the reservoir to the Asurface of a mold facing said adaptor plate and instantaneous equalization of pressure between the reservoir and said mold surface, the duct means including valve means instantaneously operable from a closed condition to an open condition.

20. An apparatus for removing a .poured mold from an open-end molding flask comprising: means for sup porting lthe ilask with both ends exposed; closure means 9 supported above the supporting means for engaging the entire periphery of one end portion of the ask when facing upwardly to provide a substantially sealed connection therewith and a cavity overlying the adjacent end of a mold held by the ask; a reservoir for storing a uid at elevated pressure; and duct means connecting the reservoir with said cavity providing passage of the uid from the reservoir into direct contact with said end of the mold and having capacity providing transfer of said fluid from the reservoir to the cavity effecting in- 10 Y 10 instantaneously operable from a closed condition to an open condition.

References Cited in the ile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS A1,011,735 Brown Dec. 12, 1911 1,316,884 Fatscher Sept. 23, 1919 1,613,856 Stoney et al. Jan. 11, 1927 1,860,022 Eggert May 24, 1932 2,799,064 Schucker July 16, 1957 2,893,079 Moran et al. July 7, 1959 2,962,776 Taccone Dec. 6, 1960 

1. AN APPARATUS FOR REMOVING A POURED MOLD FROM AN OPEN-END MOLDING FLASK COMPRISING: MEANS FOR SUPPORTING THE FLASK WITH BOTH ENDS EXPOSED; CLOSURE MEANS SUPPORTED ABOVE THE SUPPORTING MEANS FOR ENGAGING THE ENTIRE PERIPHERY OF ONE END PORTION OF THE FLASK WHEN FACING UPWARDLY TO PROVIDE A SUBSTANTIALLY SEALED CONNECTION THEREWITH AND A CAVITY OVERLYING THE ADJACENT END OF A MOLD HELD BY THE FLASK; A RESERVOIR FOR STORING A FLUID AT ELEVATED PRESSURE; AND DUCT MEANS CONNECTING THE RESERVOIR WITH SAID CAVITY PROVIDING UNINTERRUPTED PASSAGE FOR SAID FLUID FROM THE RESERVOIR TO THE SURFACE OF SAID MOLD AND HAVING CAPACITY PROVIDING TRANSFER OF SAID FLUID FROM THE RESERVOIR TO THE CAVITY EFFECTING INSTANTANEOUS EQUALIZATION OF PRESSURE THEREBETWEEN; SAID DUCT MEANS INCLUDING VALVE MEANS INSTANTANEOUSLY OPERABLE FROM A CLOSED CONDITION TO AN OPEN CONDITION. 